I read this article this morning and simply had to share it. What do you think of it? (c.k.)
Christian Science Monitor - Opinion
Columbine and the folly of overvaluing school sports
Ten years later, we are still confusing athletic success with the moral and intellectual kind.
By Jonathan Zimmerman
from the April 20, 2009 edition
New York - In December 1999, just eight months after 15 people died there, Columbine High School won its first state football championship. Americans love a happy ending, and this one was made for TV. National newscasts ran footage of the celebrations at Columbine, which followed a predictable media script: Athletic triumph tempers human tragedy.
And surely, Columbine High School needed any good news it could get. But the impulse to take comfort in sports reflected a larger problem, too: American high schools put far too large a premium on organized athletics.
As we pause to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Columbine murders, we should also reflect on the sports-crazed culture that helped produce them.
Let's be clear: Nothing can excuse the raw malevolence of the two boys, who gunned down 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. And they didn't go looking for "jocks" to kill, as early media reports claimed. But they were bullied by athletes, who stood at the top of the Columbine social ladder.
Even worse, adults reinforced this hierarchy. At Columbine, as sociologist Ralph Larkin has confirmed, teachers and administrators looked the other way when athletes hit or harassed weaker students. When sports stars got arrested outside the school, meanwhile, Columbine bent the rules to make sure they could still take the field.
Most of all, the school awarded athletes a special place in its symbolic order. In foyer display cases, sports trophies and memorabilia spoke volumes about who really counted. The hallway leading to the gymnasium featured Columbine's Wall of Fame, celebrating – you guessed it – the school's outstanding athletes.
That doesn't make Columbine unique, of course. Indeed, other American communities lavish even more acclaim on their youthful sports heroes. At Permian High School in Odessa, Texas – made famous by the H.G. Bissinger book "Friday Night Lights" – school officials spent $70,000 for a chartered airplane to fly the football team to visiting games. Meanwhile, the school's textbooks were 15 years out of date – and nobody could come up with the money to replace them.
So let's use this anniversary to think about sports – not just violence – in American schools. Keep in mind that violent crime in our schools has declined – not increased – by nearly half over the past decade. And shootings are extremely rare. Over the past 20 years, about 10 students per year have been shot in school – roughly one per month during the academic year. That's one too many, of course, but it hardly qualifies as a crisis.
Our overemphasis on sports does. When we tie "school pride" to athletics, we give pride of place to student athletes. And we send exactly the wrong message to millions of children: The sports field is more important than the classroom.
Colleges exacerbate the problem, of course, by rewarding athletic prowess with scholarships and special advantages in admissions. That's because so much of their pride, too, is invested in fielding successful sports teams.
And that returns us to Columbine, which won the state football title again in 2002. Once more, the school celebrated its strength in the face of adversity.
"The team and the school and the community at large had every reason to quit, to give up, to descend into total despair, but we've come out of it to a great degree," Columbine's principal said at the time. "We showed amazing resolve and resilience, and maybe, in some way, we've given faith to others, who saw how we responded."
But sports victories don't signify strength, or resilience, or anything else; they simply mean that one team scored more points than another one did. Today, 10 years after Columbine, we are still confusing athletic success with the moral and intellectual kind.
We need some brave school leaders to stand up and state a few simple truths: Sports are not life, and life is not sports, and all of us need to relearn the difference. Any takers?
Jonathan Zimmerman teaches history and education at New York University. He is the author of "Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory," which will be published in June.
As someone who was a geek when I was in high school 25 years ago I was jealous over the kids that played 3 sports and played them well. And yes, I think they did have star status. But it was at all schools, not just selected. Looking at my dad's high school yearbook it seemed to be the same way. Sports DOES teach morals and discipline when coached properly.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I heard over the weekend that the two Columbine shooters were actually bullies--just non-athletic bullies.
But kids that were academically smart are the ones that have made the real differences in this world. Granted, the math team never got their own parade when they likely should have, but they got just as many scholarships.
I do have a hard time with schools (high school and colleges) that are building new stadiums when professors are being laid off. But these tend to come from people in Booster Clubs who choose to spend their own money this way. It'd be great if they decided to spend it on text books, laboratories,....but hopefully the Bill Gateses will come through over time for our kids. Don't give up hope!
I agree that in many schools, too much emphasis is placed on athletics, moreso perhaps in Texas, Oklahoma, etc where school spirit borders on mania or obsession and often crosses over that border.
ReplyDeleteI'm also concerned with our society's penchant for memorializing/observing the dates of tragedies. Yes, remembering honors those lost, but it seems unhealthy, maudlin at times with the extent such things are done. Moving on is part of the healing process- the last part. One can remember and honor without rending garments and wailing lamentations. But it makes good tv.
Back to sports- sports programs should be an extension of Health Class- rooted in Academics, but also serving as entertainment. It should not be favored in budget negotiations over the arts, which teach human expression and broaden minds. And learning should be the primary function of any school system. Never should the tools of education- textbooks, paper, writing utensils, computers, library books, paint, clay, etc, Never should these things be set aside for the playing of games.
Amen, Bro'.
ReplyDeleteI love sports, and I see their value in reinforcing foundational lessons of character and cooperation. But there seems to be great pressure heaped on participants these days.
The last year that I coached little league I was loudly, publicly ripped into by a nasty adult who's girlfriend's son played for the opposing team...right there in front of my son, my team and my community. I was able to handle the situation. So was my son. So was my team. So was my community. But I felt so sad for the boy who had to leave the field with that man.
Coaches and athletes in our schools face a lot of the same pressures, and, quite honestly, some misguided HS athletes are quite abusive toward others. I don't think it can be blamed on sports. The pressure and venom just squirt out there. We are an intense and driven society, and much of what we choose to pursue often proves so hollow.
I think this is what drives much of the penchant for focusing too hard and for too long on the death and disasters of others, as well. I agree with you, Kendall, we take it to sometimes unhealthy extremes.
Could our media be trying to tell half a story? We shouldn't avoid speaking of the triumph of faith in rebuilding lives, and I saw a few inspiring "where are they now" stories of Columbine survivors. Re-running again and again file footage of the killers' rampage, usually focusing on the hopeless/helpless angle of the events of some infamous day is not overly constructive. Showing the current reality of the once-teen-victim now-triumphing-adult missionary, life-coach, parent or teacher is a far more fitting tribute.
The drama is in the death. The meaning is in the life that stubbornly, insistently continues, struggles and all.
Likewise, in sports, the drama is in the last second shot, the extra-inning homerun,maybe even the occasional and exceedingly rare athletic scholarship. The meaning is in the life lessons,the personal commitment, the comradery, and the celebration of the bodies and minds God gave us to develop, challenge and grow.
I love it when we get it right. I try to speak up when we get it wrong.
I know that this discussion relates to sports and school tragedy and now how the media feeds us the information and shows us the images over and over to remind us of the tragedy, but I have one question.
ReplyDeleteI know sports and competition and losing (oh, I have another point...I'll get to it later) is a big part of growing up; I get that. Why is so much emphasis placed on high school sports? I know that after high school you can move on to college and play sports and maybe make it into the pros but the odds of that happening are against you. I've never understood treating high schoolers as celebrities. Sure, they're good in high school and maybe even great but when they get to college there is going to be someone better. Some of the biggest and best athletes at my school are the biggest dumbest people I know and I'm almost certain that one of them still doesn't have his associate's degree and he's been in and out of college since graduation.
Also, why do pro's make millions and millions of dollars? So you can throw a little ball more than 90 mph, good for you. You're an entertainer for a few months out of the year but other than that, what are you? In my opinion they have little to offer society other than an hour or two of stimulation. I don't think they're worth their multi-million dollar contracts. Let's bump them back down to like 500k/year and see who sticks around because they love what they do, they love their sport.
For my other point, from earlier. What's with parents deciding that they don't want competitive sports anymore? I've heard that some little leagues somewhere in this country don't keep score, nobody wins, and nobody loses. Children won't learn to work for what they want or won't experience competition and disappointment. The first time they lose at something or don't get that job or the promotion, they're just going to quit or throw a tantrum because they've never experienced the pain or humiliation of being beat.
I don't mean to rant (well, kind of) but America's values need to be checked in some regards.
Fascinating discussion so far.
ReplyDeleteBeing a high school student, I witness almost every day both the positive and negative effects of school activities. I think the real problem in high school culture isn't sports- it is that students are set against their classmates; not just in sports, but in academics as well. (Did you ever hope that your best friend would get a lower grade than you, or do worse in tryouts than you...?) Yes, some competition is necessary; only one person can graduate at the very top of the class, the whole team can't be captains, and there are only so many roles in the school play. The problem isn't competition, but when the ability to beat others is valued more than the ability to better oneself.
Take a look at the current economic situation and the culture of materialism, greed, and secrecy that greatly contributed to it. When you think about it, success in our society is just a comparison. Is $10K a low salary? In our country, it is, but that is because many people here earn much more than that. High/low, good/bad, old/new all depend on comparing one thing to another. Here in America, we have always been proud of our dedication to equality... but could it be that we are living a lie? Do we, as a nation, treat every person fairly, regardless of income? Or do we let certain people off the hook because wealth=power=worth?
But anyway...
As we get older, we realize that we don't all get gold stars. It is only natural that some people will stand out more than others, and it is only fair that we recognize those who have gifts. The problems start when a person's worth is based on whether he or she is "Gifted and Talented" or not. We all have something to add to the world, and we have to remember that gifts and potential are not the same thing.